Café Layali Zaman in Al Markaziyah, Abu Dhabi - Restaurant Reviews

Café Layali Zaman

Pleasant corniche restaurant with al fresco Lebanese dining 2 Reviews

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Expats often fall into two groups: the ‘when in Rome’ crowd, who eagerly adapt to their new surrounds like biped chameleons, and the ‘Oi, garçon!’ group, who will nominally accept that they are abroad but would prefer that the locals do the adapting. Café Layali Zaman, the large building in Lake Park with ‘Baguette’ plastered prominently above the door, is definitely one for the former, which is a shame, as it means a lot of people are missing out on one of Abu Dhabi’s more interesting eateries.

It’s a great place to spend an early summer evening. Make sure that the weather’s looking charitable, stick a sweater in your bag, and pull up a chair in the extensive garden. The café is ideal for Corniche al fresco, and a cool, cloudless sunset can make a pleasant meal really memorable. Start off with one of their fresh fruit juices – guava is our particular poison – and possibly a shisha. The sweet smell of Arabian tobacco hangs over the eating area – we’re possibly the only table not to indulge, which is not to say we’re not tempted.

It’s also possible that we we’re the only non-locals in attendance. That the café is so busy, with so few tourists, is testament to the high quality of food on offer. The usual Lebanese tapas are spread liberally across our table, each dish polished off in reverential silence. The tangy baba ganoush is worth an award, let alone a mention, and the stuffed vine leaves are just the right side of bitter.

It’s hard to go wrong with shish taouk, but every bit as difficult to get it as right as this. We would applaud loudly if our hands were not so full of juicy chicken.

Once our meal has been munched up and paid for, we take a stroll under the eaves, where the shisha expert is happy to show us what it is that he does (he prepares shisha, obviously, but never has a man stuffed a pipe with such pride). The local families, regulars at this home from home, sit at large, round tables, whiling away the warm evening in a mess of card games and backgammon. It almost seems a shame to share their secret, but if you want to do Abu Dhabi the way the Abu Dhabians do it, Café Layali Zaman is the place to be.

The bill (for two)
Shish tawook Dhs20
Vine leaves Dhs12
Babaganoosh Dhs10
Guava juice Dhs15
Banana juice Dhs15
Total Dhs72